The present invention relates to food products and to their methods of preparation. More particularly, the present invention relates to shelf stable toaster pastries having high levels of fiber and to their methods of preparation
Toaster pastries are well known food products. Toaster pastries are products typically intended to be heated in a consumer toaster oven or microwave oven. Toaster pastries are generally in the form of a generally thin or planar rectangular sealed exterior shell fabricated with two sheets each formed from a sweet bread or pastry dough adjoined with a peripheral seal forming an interior cavity. A sweet filling, typically fruit based, is disposed and sealed within the interior cavity.
These pastry products are generally consumed as breakfast or dessert items and are to be distinguished from somewhat similar types of products intended to be a pocket sandwich. Many variations of such sandwiches remain popular that maintain their cultural identity such as calzones (Italian), pasties (Cornish or Finnish), perogies (Eastern European especially Polish). Such pocket sandwich products are made from an unsweetened dough and also are typically three dimensional rather than flat by virtue of the greater amount and type of filling. These pocket sandwiches are formed from a circular piece of dough folded axially to form a semi-circle and sealed along their matched curved edge. The present products are also distinguished from various Mexican products comprising an unsealed filled rolled tortilla such as enchiladas although semi-sealed rolled products having end folds are also known such as burritos. The present products are to be distinguished from such products not only by their different shape but also by virtue of their methods of preparation. Also, such pocket sandwiches are typically prepared and formulated for frozen or at least refrigerated storage and distribution rather than the shelf stable articles of the present invention.
Breakfast or dessert toaster pastries generally can be sub-categorized into either shelf stable or frozen products. Frozen consumer-heatable pastry products that contain sweet fillings are well known and include products such as TOASTER STRUDEL brand pastries sold by The Pillsbury Co., Inc., and the like. These pastry products are sold to the consumer in frozen form for heating by the consumer in a toaster or microwave oven. Typically, the pastries comprise a fried laminated dough shell or “pastry” and further comprise a sweet filing such as a fruit or spice flavored jelly, for example, cherry, cinnamon, apple, and the like disposed within the pastry shell. In many instances they often also include icing that can be pre-applied or applied by the consumer after reheating the pastry product. A good description of such products is given in U.S. Pat. No. 4,612,198 “High Stability, High Flavor, Breakfast Pastry And Method For Preparing The Same” issued Sep. 16, 1986 to Wallin et al. (See also U.S. Pat. No. 4,623,542 “High Stability, High Flavor, Breakfast Pastry And Method For Preparing The Same” issued Nov. 18, 1986 also to Wallin et al. or U.S. Pat. No. 6,827,958 “TOASTER PASTRY” issued Dec. 7, 2004 to Brown et al.)
Typically, consumer re-heatable pastry products are low in fiber, for example, containing less than ≈1 gram of fiber per 54 gram serving. Improved, high fiber toaster pastries are described in U.S. Ser. No. 61/126,122 “High Fiber Pastry Product” filed May 1, 2008 by Bashor et al. By distributing insoluble and soluble fiber constituents among the pastry dough, filling and topical icing, high levels of total fiber can be realized. In preferred embodiments, the pastry products are fried and adapted for frozen distribution in sale.
Shelf stable toaster pastries are also well known since the 1960's and now especially those available under the Pop-Tarts brand. Such Pop-Tarts brand toaster pastries are a flat rectangular toaster pastry approximately 3 in. (75 mm) by 5.5 in. (115 mm), made by the Kellogg Company. Pop-Tarts toaster pastries have a sugary filling sealed inside two layers of rectangular, thin pastry crust; each layer of this crust is ≈0.1 in. (2 mm) thick. Most varieties have frosting, but some do not. They can be eaten without being warmed, but are often warmed inside a toaster. They are usually sold in pairs inside foil packages, and do not require refrigeration. Improved multi-layered toaster pastries have also been developed (See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,267,998 “Multi-Layer Toaster Product and Method for Making Same” issued Jul. 31, 2001 to Bauman et al.). Shelf stable products while often physically resembling frozen toaster pastries in size, shape and appearance, differ substantially in formulation and method of preparation. For example, frozen toaster pastries typically comprise a shell fabricated from a fried laminated dough. In contrast, shelf stable products typically comprise shells fabricated from chemically leavened baked un-laminated dough. Also, the fillings of frozen toaster pastries generally are higher in moisture content and quantity than in the lower water activity shelf stable toaster pastries.
The present invention provides an improvement upon such shelf stable toaster pastries by providing high fiber, including added soluble fiber, shelf stable toaster pastries.
One problem with adding fiber, particularly added soluble fiber is that adding such ingredients can result in insufficient leavening of the dough shell upon baking resulting in a finished product having unacceptable mechanical and/or organoleptic properties. The present invention resides in part in that, surprisingly by selecting a particular leavening system involving particular leavening acids, that such problems can be overcome and acceptable finished products realized that provide both desired nutritional and eating qualities.
Also surprisingly, the particular physical form of the added ingredient has been found to be important when added to a particular product (i.e., when added to the shell or pie; when added to the jam or filling; or when added to the icing) to the realization of both desired nutritional and eating qualities.